To improve the tracking of livestock and to facilitate DNA testing, tissue samples may be collected from animals. A tissue sample may be taken from an animal at any time and is often taken at the same time as placing an identification tag on the animal. The tissue sample is usually cut from an animal using a tissue sampling device and is placed in a storage container for laboratory analysis.
New Zealand patent numbers 593039 and 604083 describe a tissue sampler in the shape of a clamp and comprising a pair of jaws that move toward each other to take a tissue sample. A cutting element is located in one of the jaws and is forced through an animal's ear, for example, to cut a plug of tissue from the ear as the jaws are clamped together using a first actuation action. A plunger is used to push the tissue sample out of the cutting element and into a storage tube held by the other jaw of the tissue sampler. The storage tube has a closed end and an opposing capped end. The capped end of the tube comprises an aperture through which the tissue sample is pushed by the plunger. The plunger remains in the aperture of the storage tube cap to seal the tube before the tube is removed from the device and taken away for analysis.
After the storage tube is removed, the cutting element needs to be removed from the sampler because the a different cutting element needs to be used for each tissue sample to prevent contamination of the tissue sample. The cutting element can be automatically ejected through a second actuation action of the sampler. The cutting element is then discarded onto the ground or into a refuse container. The cutting elements are sharp, so handling the cutting element carries a risk of being cut. Discarding the cutting element on the ground also carries this risk.
After the cutting element has been removed, a new cutting element, plunger, and storage tube need to be added to the tissue sampler before another tissue sample can be collected. Therefore, when the tissue sampling device is to be used, it is necessary for the user to load a new punch into the sampling device, cut a tissue sample, and to then remove the used punch before loading the next new punch into the device. The loading and unloading of punches is done manually and is a slow and fiddly process.
When the storage tube is removed for analysis, it is necessary for the cap of the storage tube (containing the plunger) to be removed before the tissue sample can be extracted. Because of the design of the tube and cap, each cap needs to be removed individually in the laboratory, which is a time consuming and therefore costly process.
It is an object of the present invention to provide: (a) a tissue sampler that goes at least some way toward overcoming the disadvantages of known tissue samplers (b) a collecting means that goes at least some way toward overcoming the disadvantages of known collecting means; or (c) a useful alternative to known tissue sampling devices and methods.